Applications of cryotherapy in premalignant and malignant esophageal disease: Preventing, treating, palliating disease and enhancing immunogenicity?

Cryotherapy is a treatment modality that uses extreme cold to destroy unwanted tissue through both immediate and delayed cellular injury. This therapy is increasingly being adopted across various medical specialties due to its minimally invasive nature and technological advancements that have been made. In the esophagus, cryotherapy is particularly utilized for the management of Barrett esophagus. It has been demonstrated to be effective and safe with potential benefits, such as a reduction in pain, over radiofrequency ablation. Additionally, it might offer a valuable alternative for patients unresponsive to radiofrequency ablation. Cryotherapy is applied for other conditions as well, including esophageal squamous cell neoplasia and malignant dysphagia. More research is needed to gain understanding of the utility in these conditions. Interestingly, cryotherapy has shown the ability to enhance the host’s immune response in reaction to antigens left in situ after treatment. While preclinical data have demonstrated promising results, the immune response is often insufficient to induce tumor regression in the clinical setting. Therefore, there is growing interest in the combination of cryotherapy and immunotherapy where ablation creates an antigen depot, and the immune system is subsequently stimulated. This combination holds promise for the future and potentially opens new doors for a breakthrough in cancer treatment.